DRPA security chief resigns

The Delaware River Port Authority's head of public safety resigned Tuesday afternoon after continued criticism of his misuse of a comped E-ZPass.

Michael Joyce's resignation was accepted, but it was not clear whether he would leave the authority immediately, said DRPA spokesman Ed Kasuba.

Last week the DRPA disclosed that Joyce had allowed his daughter to use a DRPA E-ZPass to commute to school for 18 months.

Republican politicians from Pennsylvania and New Jersey have called for the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate possible criminal charges against Joyce.

The news came on the same day Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner called on the Delaware River Port Authority Tuesday to to cut top managers' salaries and end employee perks like car allowances, free E-ZPasses, and PATCO train rides.

Wagner, a DRPA commissioner and former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate, also demanded greater oversight and transparency through the end of closed door caucus meetings and more frequent audits of the authority's finances.

"I am deeply concerned about the revelations of management and fiscal improprieties at the authority over the past several weeks," Wagner wrote in a letter to DRPA Chairman John Estey. "It is both disappointing and embarrassing that old problems continue to fester and new problems surface on a near-daily basis."

Pressure mounts on the DRPA as politicians from both states line up against the DRPA, which is overseen by commissioners from Pennsylvania and New Jersey and manages four toll bridges on the Delaware River and the PATCO commuter rail line.

Wagner's proposals are similar to those outlined last week by New Jersey Gov. Christie and which DRPA chief executive John Matheussen said he supported and would implement as the agency works to reform itself.

DRPA officials are expected to make an official announcement on those measures later this week.